Dark Madness
by bambers2
Summary: Sequel to Dark Resistance. Riordyn Raidan greeted the dawn or at least that was what his family believed. Until he stumbled back into their lives injured and near death five years later with no memory of them or what happened to him. What kept him from greeting the dawn and why can't he remember?
1. Chapter 1

Dark Madness

Chapter One

A strange feeling awoke Julian Savage from his slumber earlier than intended, and sensing something was wrong, he burst through the rich soil covering him. The first thing he did upon rising was to check on his lifemate Desari. Once he was certain she was fine, he scanned the area outside their home, and detected a faint heartbeat. He lifted his head and sniffed the air. _Ancient Carpathian blood. _The powerful scent of ancient blood wafted through the smallest of crevices and filled his nostrils.

_What is it, Julian? _Desari asked from deep beneath the soil. _I sense your distress. Are we under attack?_

_I do not believe so, _he responded although he couldn't deny someone outside their home was gravely injured. _Stay where you are until I am certain it is safe. _

Dissolving into a silvery mist, he rose up through the crevices in the floorboards. He followed the scent of blood into the woods behind their home, and scanned the area again for a trap. Even though he could not detect any trap or vampire close by, the feeling of unease grew within him. Whoever the injured Carpathian was, he was trying to shield himself, but was too weak to properly safeguard himself. And if he was close to turning vampire, Julian didn't like the idea of him being so close to his lifemate.

He traveled back and forth over the area where the feel of the Carpathian's shield felt the strongest, honing in on the man's whereabouts. His mind worked at unraveling the loose web of silvery threads of the man's shield until they finally gave way. Huddled amidst the tall grass, hidden only by the cover of the low branches of a small tree, lay a man with his hand clutched tightly over his throat. Blood spilled from beneath his fingers, soaking into his dark torn shirt. His long black hair clung to the sweat dripping from his forehead. His eyelids were closed, but Julian knew he was awake. Julian moved closer, and as he realized who the man was he drew in a sharp breath. Quickly transforming into his human form, he dropped down beside his cousin Rafe Raidan.

"What happened, Rafe?" His eyes darted around, searching for Rafe's lifemate Genevieve and their two daughters. "Where are Genevieve and the girls?"

Rafe shook his head, and opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. _Were you attacked, _he said, switching to speak to his cousin through their shared mental pathway, and was met with silence. Rafe's mouth moved again, blood spilling down his chin as a gurgling noise rose from his throat. _Can you hear me? _Rafe nodded. _Are you unable to speak to me through our shared mental pathway? _Again he nodded. _Is it safe for me to talk to you like this? _Once more he gave a weak nod.

Julian glanced around again, searching for the creature that had hurt his cousin, but sensed no immediate danger. _Aidan, _he called out to his brother, _Rafe has been attacked. I need you to check on Genevieve and the girls while I try to heal his injuries._

After a few moments Aidan responded. _I am on my way there as we speak. Are you or Desari in danger?_

_No, I sense no vampires nearby. _As he packed the deep wound in Rafe's throat with soil mingled with his saliva, he added, _I am not certain a vampire attacked him. He has lost the ability to speak to me through our shared mental pathway. _Blood soaked through the packing, covering Julian's hands as he worked to stop the bleeding. _And his wounds are not healing. _

_Can you heal him on your own?_

_I am not certain._

_Then call Gregori. Once I am certain it is safe, I will bring Genevieve and the twins to you._

After Julian called upon their healer to aid him, he lifted Rafe in his arms to carry back to his house. _Rafe, Aidan is going to bring Gen – _he paused as Rafe shook his head empathically. _You do not wish for him to bring your lifemate to you?_

Rafe tried once again to speak, but only managed to make a choked gurgling sound. When the words failed to make it past his lips, he shook his head.

"Are they in danger?"

Rafe shook his head.

_Julian, _Aidan called out to him, _something is not right. Rafe just stepped outside of his home with Genevieve and the girls. _

_Are you certain? _ Julian glance down at the injured man his arms, and narrowing his golden eyes he tried to discern if the face he saw was an illusion meant to trick him. The image held true. The man in his arms was Rafe.

_I am certain. Do you wish for me to go and speak with him?_

It took a moment for the puzzle pieces to fall into place. If Rafe was safe at home with his lifemate and children, the man in his arms could only be one other person. _Riordyn?_

Riordyn nodded.

_I thought you greeted the dawn over five years ago?_

Riordyn lowered his head and closed his eyes.

_No, Aidan. It is not Rafe who is injured, it is Riordyn. And I do not believe he wishes for his brother to know he is still alive. _

_Riordyn? That is not possible. _

_I assure you it is, _Julian said as he carried Riordyn through the front door and up the stairs to one of the unused bedrooms. _The question is why he would allow his brother to think him dead?_

_Do you believe him to be a danger to you or your lifemate?_

_I do not believe him to be a threat. _Julian set Riordyn on the bed then rolled up his sleeve and sliced into his wrist. "Take what I offer freely, cousin," he said, putting his bloody wrist to Riordyn's mouth.

Riordyn hesitated for several moments before he sunk his sharp incisors into Julian's wrist. Instead of helping to heal the wounds in his throat, more blood leaked through the soil packed into the deep gashes.

"What attacked you, Riordyn?" Julian asked, and at a loss for how else to communicate with his cousin, he created a pad of paper and pencil. "Can you write it down?"

Riordyn took the paper and pencil, and concentrated on what he wanted to say before he wrote, L-F-E-A-T. When he was finished he lifted the pad of paper to show Julian. Julian scratched at the back of his head as studied the letters his cousin wrote for a few moments. Unable to figure out what Riordyn was trying to write, he let out a heavy sigh.

"Well, that certainly did not help much."

_Aidan, whatever happened to him, it is affecting any form of communication he tries to use. _

_I will be there shortly. Is Gregori on his way?_

_He should be here soon. _

Gregori and Aidan arrived at nearly the same time, and Julian repeated everything he had already told Aidan to the healer of their people.

"We will need to heal his wounds from the inside," Gregori concluded, "and hopefully then his voice will return."

Gregori sent a sharp mental command for Riordyn to sleep, and then he and Julian left their bodies and became a white healing light. As Julian worked to seal the torn flesh of Riordyn's throat, and heal his vocal cords, Gregori searched out the damage to his mind. Once Julian had finished, he returned to his body as Gregori continued to work. Weary from the effort it took to repair the damage, Julian accepted the blood his brother offered him, and took a seat beside the bed.

"Will he be able to speak?" Aidan asked as he paced back and forth in front of the four poster bed.

"I was able to repair the damage, but it still doesn't explain why he could not communicate in any other fashion." He scratched at his head as he studied Riordyn. "I sensed no darkness within him – no sign whatsoever that he might turn vampire."

"That is a good thing." Aidan paused in his steps, and lifted a golden brow as he looked at Julian. "What is it, brother?"

"There is _no_ darkness in him."

"Are you saying he has found his lifemate?"

"I am saying something is definitely wrong with him." Julian pushed to his feet, and went to look out the window. He scanned the area again, searching for something he might have missed. When he looked back to his brother, he gave a shake of his head. "This makes no sense but it is as if something reached inside of him and tore out the darkness."

"Are you certain?" Aidan glanced back and forth between Julian and Riordyn.

"At the moment I am certain of nothing where he is concerned."

Gregori finally reemerged and returned to his own body. His pale silver eyes reflected the same sense of confusion Julian felt, and it took him several long moments before he finally spoke. "Are you the only two who know he is alive?"

They both nodded, and Julian said, "He did not wish for Rafe to know the truth."

"I believe it would be for the best if no one knew he was alive." The Dark One looked slightly rattled, something Julian thought he would never witness. "Not even Mikhail." When he mentioned their prince's name and spoke of keeping Riordyn's sudden reappearance from him, both Julian and Aidan drew in a sharp breath. As second in command of their people, Gregori never withheld information from Mikhail.

"What is wrong with him?" Aidan asked.

"I cannot be certain without speaking with him, but I am of the belief that Riordyn died."

"Then how is he alive?" Julian asked, sinking into the cushioned chair beside the bed.

"The question you should be asking yourself is what brought him back," Gregori said, raking a hand though his long midnight black hair. "And why."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

_Five years ago…_

After being exonerated of the murders alleged against him, Riordyn's intention had been to greet the dawn thereby ending the curse that kept his lifemate from finding eternal peace. He couldn't do it. He stood waiting as the first golden rays of dawn seared his skin. But when the moment came, some outside force pushed its way into his mind and forced him to go to ground. At first he believed it to be his brother Rafe controlling him, exerting his will to make certain Riordyn did not end his life. Yet when given the chance to think about it, he realized he would have recognized his brother's touch on his mind.

Again and again he tried to greet the dawn with the same results. Finally he gave up, and returned home to search for his lifemate. The only thing he knew for certain about her was that she was mentally insane. He spent his nights spanning the countryside, investigating every mental institution in hopes of finding her. The gray bleakness of every asylum he entered wore on his soul, dragging him down into the depths of darkness the likes of which he had never known before.

Numerous times he considered making his presence known to Rafe to end his solitary existence. The thought always lingered in his mind after every unsuccessful venture to find his lifemate. But Rafe believed him dead, and eventually he would try to greet the dawn again. He steeled his resolve knowing he could never put his twin through the pain of losing him a second time.

If his emotions hadn't returned due to the cruel experiments the Morris Research Facility conducted on him and Rafe's lifemate Genevieve, he wouldn't be feeling the heavy weight of loneliness pulling him under. And even if he didn't want to admit it to himself, maybe it was his emotions and not some outside force that kept him from greeting the dawn.

And maybe his emotions were to blame for allowing one of the patients he came across in his travels to get under his skin. Thankfully she wasn't his lifemate – she didn't bring color back into his life, but she did bring trouble, amusement, and even laughter into his life.

He stumbled upon her at the Havenhurst Sanatorium – quite literally stumbled as she was hiding under the bed when he entered her room in search of his lifemate. Not seeing anyone, but hearing a single erratic heartbeat, he slowly traveled through the drab white-walled room. When he'd made it to the window, he pivoted back around, and that's when she lunged out from under the bed and slammed into the backs of his knees. Unprepared for the sneak attack, his knees buckled, and he fell, slamming his head into the ground.

"Not this time, Cobbs!" she said triumphantly, and scrambling up onto his chest, she raised a fist to strike him.

"I would not do that if I were you," he uttered in a lowly deadly tone, and in a blur of motion he caught hold of her fist. "You will remove yourself from my body before I am forced to do it for you."

The girl's steel gray eyes widened considerably. She was young, no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, and yet the look in those large eyes of hers bespoke of experiences of a person well beyond her age. "Did Cobbs send you?" Although she was trying to put up a brave front, he heard the slight tremor in her voice as she spoke. "If so you can tell him he's not my pimp!"

Riordyn lifted a brow, and studied her more closely. Faded bruises peeked over the collar of her oversized t-shirt, and on her lower lip he noticed an ugly scab. "Tell me, little one, does this Cobbs' person mistreat you? Did he rape you?" His body tensed as he waited for her answer. Carpathian men cherished women and children, and the thought of someone hurting an innocent girl filled him with rage.

"He wouldn't call it rape." Cautiously, with eyes on him, she slid off him, got to her feet and backed away from him. She edged around the bed as if that would give her an advantage if he suddenly attacked her. "Why are you doing in my room?"

"I was looking for someone," Riordyn replied as he rose to his feet and brushed off his pants. "Instead I found you." For a split second he considered leaving her, but he knew what it felt like to be raped – to have someone take advantage when he was too weak and broken to defend himself. "You will show me where this man Cobbs is, and I will see to it that he hurts you no more."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, Sparky," she said, eying the doorway to her private bathroom.

"You can try – you will not make it far." He chuckled.

"I'm a fast runner." Her gaze darted back and forth between him and the open door.

"I assure you I am faster. Now tell me where the man is and what he looks like."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but Cobbs is a lot bigger and stronger than you – hell, I knocked you down. So I'm not going to tell you where he is and be responsible for you ending up in the hospital."

"Are you questioning my strength?" A smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I'll have you know I am quite capable of taking care of myself."

She chewed at the scab on her lower lip in clear indecision. "If you really want to help me, then get me out of here. I'm not crazy – not yet anyway, but if they keep me here much longer, I'll go insane."

"If you are not ill then why are your parents allowing these people to keep you in this place?"

"My parents died when I was four." Squaring her shoulders, she sauntered around the bed, and came to stand before him. Lifting a hand, she trailed it down his chest to the waistband of his pants. Her tongue darted out to glide along her upper lip. "Help me, and I'll do anything you want." Her voice turned low and seductive, not at all the tone he would expect from a child.

"You are a child," he uttered, grasping hold of her hand before her fingers traveled any lower. "And as such, I can do no other than protect you – even if it means protecting you from yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Her eyebrows knitted together. "I'm not a child, and I definitely know how to please a man."

"Your answer is all the proof I need to say you are in desperate need of my guidance and protection, little one." Riordyn easily slipped into her mind and sent her a sharp mental command to sleep. Her eyelids drooped closed, and before she fell to the ground, he scooped her up into his arms.

_I am abducting a teenage girl from a mental institution. This is not going to end well. _He berated himself as he strode through the long corridor of the mental institution. She wasn't part of his world, but no one from her own world was looking out for her well being. Every ingrained instinct within him cried out to save her from those who would use and abuse her body. Later when he had her safely tucked away in his lair he would return and take care of Cobbs and any other man who abused her.

Several doctors, orderlies and nurses unknowingly passed by them as he made his way toward the exit. He paused at the sight of a large man with short scruffy hair walking toward the double doors of the exit. The man was dressed in a light gray security guard uniform and from the silver nametag he wore, Riordyn read the name Cobbs. As he stood watching the muscular man, Cobbs unlocked the front door, ushered a seedy looking man inside, and took the wad of cash the man offered him.

"Down the corridor, take your first right and it's the fifteenth room on the left," he said in a voice just above a whisper. Riordyn retraced his steps in his mind, and cursed under his breath when he realized Cobbs was sending the man to the room where he abducted the girl.

Carefully setting the girl down on a couch in the reception area, he lunged forward and shifted into a large black wolf. A low growl rumbling in his throat was their only warning before he attacked. His eyes burned red as he leapt at the man who had just entered the building. Sharp claws ripped through his clothing and tore into his chest. The man's screams echoed throughout the expansive lobby as Riordyn's jaws snapped closed around his upper arm. Blood surged into his mouth, the predatory need to kill his prey nearly overwhelming him.

Gunfire blasted, bullets slammed into Riordyn's body, piercing his wolf hide. With a yelp of surprise, he flew backward and slid across the floor. Blood quickly coated his fur. He shifted into human form and turned to face Cobbs. Instead of running, Cobbs stood with his gun aimed at Riordyn's chest.

From within the mental institution he heard the panicked screams of the patients, and he didn't need to look back to know the girl was awake. He sensed her eyes on him, but unlike the other patients she remained silent.

"You will no longer make money off the innocence of others," he growled, taking a slow calculated step toward Cobbs.

"I don't know what you are or how the hell you got in here, but you're going down, you son of a bitch!" A menacing smile spread across Cobbs' craggy features as he fired his gun again.

With lightning fast reflexes, Riordyn dodged the bullet. "To strike the kind of fear within you that you should be feeling at this moment, I will say I am vampire." In a blur of speed, he gripped hold of Cobb's throat and lifted him off the ground with one hand. His other hand circled Cobbs', and he applied pressure until the gun clattered to the ground. "I believe it will not be to my own damnation to kill you – no, it would be a just kill I think."

Lowering Cobbs to his feet, Riordyn bared his fangs, and drove them into the man's throat. Cobbs flailed and writhed in his arms, trying to break free, but he was no match for Riordyn's strength. Riordyn gorged himself on the rapist's blood, and could feel the life draining from him.

"We need to go," came a quiet voice behind him, and he felt the girl place a trembling hand on his back. "The police are coming." As she said this, Riordyn regained enough control to hear the sound of sirens drawing closer.

_He will not go unpunished, little one. _Riordyn swirled his tongue around the puncture wounds in Cobbs' throat, healing them. Then he bit into his own wrist, and fed the man his own blood. Now he would always be able to find him and have control over his mind. "You will admit what you have done to the police, and accept whatever punishment they give you. Do you understand?"

When Cobbs' gave a nod, Riordyn scooped the girl up in his arms and strode out the front door. "Close your eyes," he commanded, and waited until she did as he asked before he took to flight.

As he flew through the night, he tried to decide what to do with the girl. She was another complication he did not need in his life, and to keep her with him would leave her vulnerable during the daylight hours. Yet even knowing this, he couldn't turn her over to the humans who had failed to keep her from harm.

"I am Riordyn," he finally said with a heavy sigh. "What do they call you?"

"Jennifer – Jenny Callahan." Jenny pried open her eyes, glanced down at the world far below and gasped. Her arms wound around his neck in a death grip.

"Have no fear you will not fall while in my arms." Feeling her grip loosen a little, he smiled. "I am glad to see you trust me."

"Are you really a vampire?" She rolled her eyes. "What a stupid question. Of course you are." She muttered something unintelligible under her breath. "So are you the sparkly variety or more along the lines of Bram Stoker's version?"

"I do not sparkle," Riordyn chuckled, "and I may have embellished the truth for Cobbs' benefit. I am not vampire."

Jenny chewed at the scab on her lip as she contemplated what he said. "But you are dangerous."

"Lethal," he said without the slightest hesitation.

"And you drink blood."

"It is how I survive."

"And you have fangs – big ones."

"They do tend to help when I'm thirsty." He laughed again. "So have you revised your earlier notion that I am not strong enough to take on someone like Cobbs?"

She gave a quick nod, and removed her arm from around his throat to push her dark bangs out of her eyes. "What are you going to do with me?"

"That I have not decided. I will not turn you over to your own people and have them mistreat you." He looked down at her, and noticed the light dusting of freckles across her pert nose. "My people would cherish you –"

"Yeah, maybe for dinner," she cut in. "No, I can take care of myself, Sparky."

"You have not done such a great job taking care of yourself thus far," he gently reminded her. "And my name is Riordyn not Sparky."

Spying the mountains ahead, he dove downward and flew fast through the narrow tunnel leading to his temporary lair. Once inside the cavern deep within the mountain, he wove intricate safeguards to keep predators out and to make certain Jennifer remained inside with him. With a wave of his hand, he created a bed, table, chairs and a couch for her comfort. One by one candles burst to life, bathing the cavern in a warm glow.

"How old are you, Jenna?" he asked, taking a seat on the edge of a deep pool of water.

"Nineteen," she said without giving it a moment's thought.

"I am not asking for the age you give men when you prostitute your body." As he waited for her answer, he concentrated on ridding his body of the bullets. Once they wormed their way to the surface, and fell to the earth, he dug into the rich soil, mixed it with his saliva and packed his wounds. When she failed to respond, he added, "Make no mistake about it, I will know the truth even if I have to ferret it from your mind."

"Fifteen," she finally responded, slumping onto the couch.

"You are far too young to be making decisions for yourself." As he spoke he once again considered his options. If he left her in the care of the Carpathians, they would learn that he did not greet the sun. And that was something he could not allow to happen. And he wouldn't return her to the mental institution even with Cobbs gone. "You will stay with me until I figure out what is best for you."

"Stay – with you? In a cave." She laughed condescendingly. "Yeah, that's not going to happen. Maybe it's escaped your knowledge but I need food and –"

With a wave of his hand, heaping platters of food appeared on the table. And before she could make any other argument, he created two intricately carved dressers filled with clothing for her. "Anything you should need, I can provide for you."

"What if I want jewelry?" she said in an obvious attempt to be difficult.

With a roll of his eyes and a shake of his head, a heavy diamond necklace appeared around her throat while jeweled rings encircled every one of her fingers. "If those are not to your liking, princess, I assure you I can create anything to please you."

She lifted the necklace and studied it for a moment before she let it drop back against her chest. "I was only joking about the jewelry," she muttered, blowing the hair out of her eyes.

"I know." He chuckled, and as he laughed the jewelry disappeared.

Riordyn dragged himself to his feet, and walked to the table. Gesturing for her to join him, he took a seat. "I must feed and go to ground in order for my injuries to heal, Jenna," he said as she took a seat in the chair beside him. "You will not be afraid here if I am gone, will you?"

"No," she said, picking up a warm roll and slathering it with sweet smelling strawberry jam. "I'm use to being alone."

"As am I, little one." Riordyn felt an odd fluttering in his heart for the tiny wisp of a girl. "You have jam on your chin."

As she wiped off the jam with her shirt sleeve, she asked, "Who were you looking for at Havenhurst?"

"My lifemate," he said as he got to his feet, "the woman who is supposed to bring light to my darkness."

"And you expected to find her in a mental institution?" she giggled. "Wow, you really must be desperate."

"I am."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

_Present day…_

"Jenna!" Riordyn shouted, lurching forward in bed while reaching out to her. Within a blink of an eye, her image dissolved into a silvery mist and fade away.

Disorientated, he glanced around at his surroundings trying to figure out where he was. Although the heavy curtains were pulled closed, he still knew it was nighttime. The grand four poster bed did not look even remotely familiar, and neither did the expensive looking furniture in the bedroom. From the fragrant aroma of herbs wafting through the air, he discerned he was in the home of a fellow Carpathian, and it set him on edge. He searched his memory trying to figure out how he got there, and drew a blank.

At the sound of the doorknob turning, his head snapped up and his eyes narrowed on Julian and Aidan as they entered the room. The golden twins – his cousins both regarded him warily as if at any moment he might turn vampire on them.

"How did you find me?" he asked, hanging his feet over the side of the bed.

"It was you who found me, cousin," Julian said, crossing his arms over his expansive chest. "Do you not remember coming here three days ago?"

"Three days ago?" Riordyn raked a hand through his hair as he tried to recall what Julian said. Huge gaping holes littered his memory, and not just of the last three days. "What happened?"

"We have been waiting for you to wake up to find that out for ourselves," Aidan commented, and in a few long strides he crossed the room to tower over Riordyn. "Who is Jenna? Is she your lifemate?"

"Jenna?" Riordyn's brows knitted in confusion. "I do not remember anyone named Jenna."

"You called out to her when you woke," Julian said, and both brothers shared a glance. "Do you see colors, Riordyn?"

Riordyn looked around at all the various colors in the room and then down at the dark blue comforter on the bed, and nodded. "What does that mean?" he said, feeling as if he should know the answer himself.

"You have found your lifemate," Aidan said, and once again the brothers looked at each other. "We need to find her, Riordyn."

"Tell us the last thing you remember."

Riordyn pressed his eyelids closed as he once again tried to recall how he got to Julian's house. When he reopened his eyes, he let out a weary sigh. "I remember leaving the Carpathian Mountains."

"That was well over five years ago," Aidan said, taking a seat beside Riordyn. "You do not remember anything after that?"

"I cannot recall anything after that," Riordyn mumbled, staring at his hands.

"Do you remember why you did not want us to call Rafe when you came here?" Julian asked as he began to pace back and forth in front of them.

"Rafe?"

"Your brother," both Aidan and Julian said at the same time.

"I have a brother?" Riordyn scratched at the back of his head. "How is it possible that I can remember you two and not my own brother?"

"Do you remember Gregori?"

"Yes," he nodded, "the Dark One."

"Mikhail?"

"No," he said after a moment's hesitation. "Should I know him?"

Julian paused in his steps and both brothers looked at each other again, and for some odd reason, Riordyn felt as if they were talking to each other. Then Julian tilted his head to look at Riordyn.

"Over the past three days, Aidan, Gregori and I have given you our blood, and I believe that is why you remember us. Whatever happened to you has wiped your memory of everyone you've ever known."

"But if I didn't know you, how would I know to come here?"

"I don't know," Julian said.

Riordyn dragged himself to his feet, and trudged to the window. Pulling back the curtains, he stared up at the full moon. _I have a brother. _Closing his eyes, he traveled over the gaping holes in his mind, trying to find a single memory of his brother or his family, and only came up with scattered memories of Julian and Aidan. "I have lived a long time?"

"Almost two thousand years," Aidan answered. "You are an ancient one."

"I need to see my brother." Riordyn turned back to look at both men. "If I am to regain my memories, they have to start with him."

"Gregori does not believe that is a good idea."

"Not at the moment anyways," Julian added, placing himself between Riordyn and the doorway. "First we must learn what happened to you and find your lifemate. Then we will take you to your brother."

"So I am a prisoner?"

"You are my guest," Julian countered, and to show he meant what he said, he gestured for Riordyn to follow him as he left the room and went downstairs. A beautiful slender woman with long blue black hair met them as they entered the living room, and slid her arm around Julian's waist. "Riordyn, this is my lifemate Desari."

With her brow furrowing in confusion, Desari looked up at Julian and then after a moment she smiled at Riordyn. "It is good to see you again, Riordyn."

"I do not remember you," Riordyn uttered, frustration edging his tone. Every memory he had of Julian was clear, but anyone who might have been with him was blurred beyond recognition. His temples throbbed from trying to remember bits and pieces of his life, and seeing someone he should know but didn't, made it all the worse. "Your lifemate believes I shouldn't see my brother – do you think that is a wise decision?"

Desari was silent for a moment, and once again he had an odd feeling they were talking to each other. "He is trying to do what is best for you, Riordyn."

"You will remember everything in time," Aidan said, coming up behind him and placing a hand on his shoulder. "But the first thing we need to do is find your lifemate. The longer you are apart from her without any contact, the harder it will be on her."

"Her life is in danger," Julian added, "she will not survive without you."

"Then how do I find her? If what you say is true, I won't know it is her until I've drank her blood." Riordyn sank down onto the leather couch, and rubbed at his temples. "There must be another way to regain my memory."

"At least we know her first name is Jenna," Julian said.

"And we are of the belief she is fairly close by," Aidan added, trying to sound positive even though his mouth was set in a grim line. "I have already been to your cavern in the mountains, and found no sign of her."

"They will find her for you," Desari murmured in a hauntingly beautiful tone meant to set his mind at ease. She left her lifemate's side, and came to sit beside him. "You will find her, Riordyn."

"Then I should be out looking for her." He was about to stand, but Julian was quick to place a hand on his shoulder to keep him where he was seated. "So I am a prisoner," he concluded with a low growl rumbling in his throat.

"Only until we figure out what attacked you."

"Why is that so important?"

"It may be trying to draw you out in order to kill your lifemate," Aidan said, and from the look he and Julian exchanged Riordyn realized there was more to it than either man was telling him.

"Do you not believe I can protect my own lifemate?"

"I believe you would try – you would fail," Julian said without the slightest hint of doubt in his tone. "What made you a lethal predator is gone . . . it was ripped from you, and we are trying to figure out how to counteract it."

"You mean I am no longer Carpathian," Riordyn uttered, chest tightening as he tried to imagine what that meant for him. "That is why you do not want me to see my brother. You do not want him to know I am nothing."

"Gregori believes someone used the darkest of magic against you, and he is working to find a solution as we speak," Aidan said, confirming Riordyn's belief that they saw him as less than their equals. "We will find a way to heal you, Riordyn."

"And until then I should just sit here waiting for someone else to save her?" None of the three would meet his gaze, and the silence that met his question was almost deafening. "I will not be made a coward by anyone. If I must fight as a man then I shall defeat my enemies as a man."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

_Four and a half years ago . . ._

Against his better judgment, Riordyn could not bring himself to find Jenna a suitable home. He tried but always found reasons to keep her with him. Some – no, most of his reasons were beyond ridiculous. The house was too close to the road. The foster father had an odd smile. There were too many cars in the driveway. None of them were good reasons to keep her from finding parents to watch over her. Not that that mattered, they only had to sound reasonable in his mind.

The truth was he liked having her around. And after a short while he decided to keep her with him permanently. He knew it wasn't an ideal situation for a teenage girl to live in a cavern instead of a real home – he didn't care. No matter where they traveled, once he found a place for them to stay while he searched for his lifemate, he created her a room of her own within the confines of the cavern.

For the most part she seemed happy to be with him, yet there were times when she tried his patience. Tonight was one of those times. There were several mental institutions he wanted to investigate, and she wanted to go to the mall. Of all the places he ever thought to enter, a mall never crossed his mind.

"It's not like you have to go with me, Riordyn," she huffed, raking her brush through her hair. Several long strands floated to the ground, and although she wouldn't have noticed them, he watched them with utmost interest. "The mall closes at ten o'clock. You can drop me off in the parking lot, and pick me up when you're done."

"What need have you for going to the mall?" he said while eying her clothing, deciding if it was appropriate for a girl her age to wear. "And why must all your jeans have rips in them? I did not create them that way."

She rolled her eyes. "Boys," she said as if the answer should be obvious, "you know the creatures girls my age like to go places with."

"Well, if that's the reason, the answer is a definite no." He folded his arms across his chest, and gave her his most intimidating look. She scowled at him and brushed her hair all the harder. "You are only fifteen –"

"I'll be sixteen soon," she countered, pulling her hair into a ponytail. "And it's not like I'm a virgin –"

"Do not remind me of that," he said, cutting her off before he lost his temper. His hands still clenched into tight fists as he tried to remain calm. "Trust me, little one, there will come a time when I hunt down every man who ever paid to touch your body, and when I do . . . ." his voice trailed off as a dark rage overtook him. Of their own accord, his incisors lengtheedn, and he was forced to turn his back on her. "You are not old enough yet to look at boys."

"You're being unreasonable."

"I am your protector, and as such, I can do no other than to keep you from making bad choices."

"I could run away," she muttered under her breath, eying him through the mirror of her vanity table.

"You would think to leave me?" He'd never once considered the possibility that she might run away from him as she had done when placed in several different foster homes. Once he decided to take on the responsibility of caring for her, he believed she would stay with him until she was old enough to be on her own.

"I cannot allow that." His tone turned melodic and mesmerizing. In his mind there was only one way to assure she could never run and hide from him. "Come to me, little one," he murmured, and caught within his thrall, she stood and walked to him. "I promise this will not hurt, and it will assure I can always find you no matter where you go."

Guilt churned in his stomach as he lowered his head and scraped his incisors against the pulse in her throat. Fangs sinking deep into her flesh, he tasted her sweet blood filling his mouth. Need struck him hard, and he gorged himself as her body drooped against him. His arm circled around her, holding her to him as he continued to feed. As her heart beat slowed to nearly nonexistent, he forced himself to swirl his tongue over the puncture wounds to heal them.

Scooping her up in his arms, he cradled her in his arms as he strode to the couch and sat down. Her eyelids fluttered open, and for the briefest of moments he imagined flecks of blue within their gray depths. When he blinked any trace of color was gone and they were once again steel gray. Riordyn sliced open his wrist, and placed it against her mouth. _You need to drink, Jenna. Take what I offer you freely, _he commanded, and felt the tension ease from between his shoulder blades as she drank his blood.

Once he given her more than enough blood to create a bond between them, he sealed the wounds on his wrist. _You will remember none of this. _

He considered commanding her to sleep until his next rising to give himself time to work through the guilt he felt for exchanging blood with her. They'd spent nearly six months together and he never once thought of taking her blood. She was under his protection, not to mention that she was a female and a child. _It had to be done. I cannot protect her if she runs away from me. _

Riordyn carried her back to the vanity table and set her on the cushioned chair. _You will forget that you wanted to go to the mall to meet boys. You want to help me find my lifemate, _he commanded, weaving his way through her mind. "Jenna," he gently shook her out of the trance she'd been under. "We must go. There are several places I want to search tonight."

Slowly the dazed look drained from her eyes. Then her brows pulled together in confusion. "Riordyn, I –" Biting at her lower lip, she scratched at the back of her head. "Never mind, I forgot what I was going to say."

"I'm sure it will come to you." He smiled, holding out his hand to her. "In the meantime, you can tell me when your birthday is."

"April 12th," she answered reluctantly, walking beside him as they left the cavern.

"That is only a week from now." He was well aware that humans celebrated their birthdays, and their children especially looked forward to them. Yet she failed to mention it to him. "What would you like for your birthday?"

She shrugged. "Nothing."

"You must want something." She remained silent as they came to the mouth of the tunnel, and didn't utter a word when he lifted her into his arms and took to flight. "I am trying very hard to give you a normal human upbringing, csitri. But I know nothing of what a young girl would want for her sixteenth birthday so a little help would be appreciated."

"Why do you always have to remind me how young I am, Wolf?" The only time she ever called him Wolf was when she was angry. And if the spark in her steel gray eyes was any indication, he knew he was in for an earful. "I'm not a little girl. I don't play with dolls or play dress up. You look at me like I'm this little kid, but I'm almost an adult. Do you realize how demeaning that is?"

"That was never my intent," he said as they flew high above the canopy of trees. Jenna shivered a cold gust of air breezed past them. Cursing under his breath, he cradled her closer to his body and cursed again as her firm full breasts pressed against his chest. "Believe me I am well aware of the fact that you are almost a woman – but to me you will always be a child."

With a huff, she rolled her eyes. "That's because you're _so_ old."

Amused instead of insulted, he lifted an eyebrow and smiled at her. "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"Why would you think that, gramps?" she said sarcastically. "Instead of searching mental institutions for your lifemate, we probably should be looking into a nursing home for you."

His good humor left him as she reminded him of how long he had lived without finding his lifemate. The smile slipped from his face to be replaced by a scowl. "I assure you I am in prime condition, little one."

"So you say," she countered, her fingers grazing along the pulse in her throat. Her eyes narrowed as if she was trying to recall what he made her forget. "If vampires are real, do other creatures exist as well? Like werewolves and witches?" she asked, changing the subject.

Breathing a sigh of relief, he nodded. "As far as werewolves are concerned, I am of the belief that somewhere along the lines, a human must have seen a Carpathian shift into a wolf and the stories came from that. But there are mages and jaguar men."

"Mages are like witches?" She continued to rub at her throat as she spoke; forcing him to send her another strong mental command to forget that he had taken her blood.

"Mages are very powerful wizards," he said, diving lower in the sky as they reached the city. "A long time ago they taught my people how to create safeguards to protect ourselves."

"So they are good?"

"No, little one." Lips curling into a frown, he shook his head. "When I first came to America, I met two mages. Andras and his wife Jinn-Si. I needed to learn better ways to shield myself against my enemies, and they welcomed me into their home and taught me many things. I trusted them." As he spoke he narrowed his eyes on the building below, searching for the Rosemont Mental Care Facility. "When I learned Andras had used dark magic to kill humans and Carpathians alike, I was forced to kill him. Jinn-Si swore she did not have any idea what her husband was doing, and pleaded for me to spare her. And against my better judgment I allowed her to live."

"Do you think she was telling the truth?" Jenna asked as he caught sight of the mental health facility and landed not far from it.

"I'd like to believe she was innocent. Not that it matters as she died not long after he did." He set her down lightly on the ground, and together they walked toward the front of the brick building.

Before they reached the glass doors leading inside, Jenna came to a halt, and backed up a few steps. "I don't want to go in there." Shaking her head, she backed further away.

"Why?" Riordyn scanned the area inside and outside of the building, but sensed no danger. "I promise no one will see us, Jenna."

"Yes, they will."

She sounded so certain, he rescanned the area again. "I detect only humans inside."

"I'll wait outside," she said, stubbornly taking a seat on one of the benches along the walkway.

"I will not leave you outside." He held out a hand to her, and gave a sharp mental command for her to take hold of it.

"This place is haunted," she said, fighting his mental command as she fidgeted in her seat. "Don't make me go inside, Riordyn."

"There is no such thing as ghosts, little one," he murmured, using the soft coaxing tone of his voice to alleviate her fears. He had forgotten how humans were prone to have irrational fears of things like ghosts, snakes, and spiders. Then he recalled how his twin brother's lifemate Genevieve had a fear of the fog. "And even if there were, I would protect you."

Jenna glanced back and forth between him and the institution before she finally held out a trembling hand to him. Together they entered the mental institution, and he noticed how close she walked next to him. Her arm brushed against his with every step they took, and her eyes darted around searching for the ghosts she believed to be real. At every little noise, she jumped making their progress through the first floor slower than Riordyn would have liked.

"I wanna leave, Riordyn," she uttered, trying to shake her hand free of his. "They don't want us here. We need to go!" Her voice rose in agitation, and as it did he heard someone cry out from behind the locked door he was about to open. "You see they're telling us to go!"

"It is only one of the patients, Jenna." Although he understood that she was afraid, he was quickly losing his patience. With a flick of his wrist, the lock clicked open. "You will see that you have nothing to fear," he said as he pushed opened the door. A sudden gust of icy air blasted them in the face as they stepped over the threshold. An old woman lay fast asleep in the bed across the room. Since everything remained in the same dull shades of gray as he looked at her, he didn't bother going any further into her room.

Guilt pricked at his conscience as he heard Jenna muffle a soft sob, yet the need to find his lifemate drove him onward through the first floor of the institution. At every room, he met with the same disappointment. No color. No end to his suffering. He could feel his anger rising as they swept through the second floor, and kept his eyes averted from Jenna. Her continued cries rubbed his nerves raw, and as she continued to struggle to break free of his hold on her hand, he tightened his grip.

"We are almost done, Jenna. Only one more floor and we can go," he uttered, trying to keep the anger from his tone.

The only response he received was another cry that almost sounded as if she were in pain. He paused in his steps and turned to look at her. His breath lodged in his throat. Deep welts rimmed her right eye and chin. The indentation of perfect handprints were scattered along her bare arms as if something had continually grabbed at her and forcefully tried to pull her away from him. He breathed in deep and caught the scent of her blood.

"Where are you bleeding?" he asked, his gaze darting back and forth in search of the things tormenting her.

"Get out!" she growled in a low unnatural voice. Her eyes gleamed white in the darkness surrounding them. "You are not welcome here."

"Jenna?" Fear clenched at his heart, tightening his chest. "Talk to me, little one."

"I said get out!" With a flick of her wrist, he lost his grip on her hand, and was thrown backward into the wall.

His head connected hard with the wall, bright bursts of light flashing before his eyes. He scarcely had time to get to his feet against when the force rammed into him again, throwing him back and forth between the walls of the corridor.

"Get Out!" the thing controlling Jenna screamed again. And from behind the closed doors of the patients' rooms, he heard them crying out for help.

The illusion he created to hide their presence in the building faltered and died away under the strain of the continual attack against him. In the distance he heard footsteps slapping against the linoleum, warning him that the hallway would soon be filled with orderlies and hospital guards. Staggering to his feet, he forced his way into Jenna's mind, and fought for control. Darkness wrapped itself around her mind so tightly he couldn't break its hold. The only way to free it from its grip was to get her out of Rosemont.

Steeling himself against the constant onslaught, he charged toward her, lifting her off her feet. In a blur of speed, he raced down the corridor, flew down the stairs, and burst out of the building before anyone saw them. Glass shattered outward behind him and he wasn't certain if he caused it or if it was something she did. He didn't stop running until they were miles away from the institution. Once they were out of the city and back in the forest, he slowed to a stop.

With her cradled in his arms, he took a seat on a fallen tree. Accessing the deep bruises marring her skin, he winced. She trembled in his arms as he searched for where she was cut. Blood dripped from a deep gash at the back of her head, soaking her hair. He went still, and traveled outside of his body to heal the wound. Whatever had entered her body was now gone, leaving only a slight trace of darkness behind. He bathed her mind with healing light as he worked to mend the jagged cut.

When the cut and bruises were healed, he returned to his body, and glanced down at her with a look of concern. "Why did you not tell me something was wrong?"

"I tried to, but you wouldn't listen." Tears glistened in her eyes as she pushed away from him, and got to her feet. "I told you we shouldn't go in there. I said the place was haunted – you didn't care."

"This has happened to you before?" He stared down at his hands. For all his strength, he had been utterly useless when she needed his help.

"I don't want to talk about it, Wolf." She turned her back on him, and started walking away.

"Come back here," he ordered, giving her a sharp mental command to do as he said. Reluctantly, she pivoted to face him. "You will answer me."

"I can see and talk to people who have died – and sometimes . . . ." her voice trailed off as she lowered her head.

"Sometimes what?" he prompted, needing to know what he was dealing with if he was going to protect her from it.

"Sometimes they want me to hurt people. They get inside of me, and I lose control of my mind and body – that's why they locked me up in a mental institution."

"They made you hurt someone?" Even as he said the words, he recalled how powerful the entity inhabiting her body was, and how it had taken her over completely. If he had been a human, she might have killed him. "I will not allow it to happen again."

"There's no way to stop them, Riordyn." She laughed bitterly. "I watched as it threw you around as if you were nothing."

"I was caught unaware," he grumbled, pride stinging at the reminder of his failure to defeat his unseen enemy. "I assure you it will never happen again."

"You're right 'cause I'm leaving before it does." Hugging her arms around her stomach, she once again turned her back on him and walked away.

With a low growl he sprang to his feet and chased after her. She broke into a run, but he caught up to her within a matter of moments. Scooping her up in his arms, he took to flight before she could think to break free. "You belong with me, little one. Until such an age comes when you are old enough to find a husband, you are not to leave me."

"Eventually they'll make me hurt you," she cried, burying her face against his chest. "Sh-she wanted me to hurt you."

"The ghost?"

She nodded, rubbing at her eyes.

"But she's gone now, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"Give me time, csitri, and I will learn to safeguard your mind against them."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Present day…

Riordyn struggled to break free of the safeguards Julian created to keep him from leaving the grounds of his home. He was only allowed to travel as far as the edge of the woods before the invisible barrier stopped him from progressing any further.

Earlier in the evening he watched as both Julian and Aidan shifted into impressive owls with large wing spans, and after they had left to look for his lifemate, he tried again and again to transform into an animal or bird of prey. No matter how hard he tried, nothing worked.

_They are right. Even if I could find my lifemate, I could not protect her. _

Two nights had gone by since he woke up, and still none of his memories returned. He tried to conjure the image of her in his mind, to give his cousins some idea what she looked like, but found only vast emptiness where memories of her should have been.

He had spoken briefly with Gregori, and the healer vowed to find a solution to his problem. If it weren't for the grim look he gave when he made the vow, Riordyn might have been more hopeful. Not that it mattered as without his lifemate he had no reason to go on with life.

Riordyn glanced up and caught sight of a hawk gliding just above the canopy of trees. It flew into the invisible barrier and bounced back, dropping to the ground. Keeping his eyes on where it fell, Riordyn raced toward it. He searched through the underbrush on the other side of the barrier expecting to find a bird and instead he found a man. A man whose face matched his own. Black eyes widening considerably, the man's jaw dropped open as he looked Riordyn up and down.

"Riordyn?" he asked breathlessly.

Riordyn nodded, a slow smile spreading across his face as he realized he was staring at his brother Rafe. "I know you to be my brother, but I am afraid I do not remember you."

"What do you mean, you don't remember me?" Rafe tried to breech the barrier between them, but it held firm.

"I have lost almost all of my memories and abilities," he admitted, lowering his head to hide the shame burning in his eyes. "I have lost everything, brother."

Rafe remained silent as his eyes narrowed on the invisible barrier separating them. Within a matter of minutes, he strode through Julian's safeguard, and wrapped his arms around Riordyn. "I believed you dead, brother."

"I might as well be dead," Riordyn muttered, breaking free of his brother's grasp. "As I said, I do not remember you."

"But you remember Julian?" Rafe lifted a brow in confusion. "How is that possible?"

"Julian, Aidan and Gregori gave me their blood when they found me close to death five nights ago."

"And none of them told me you were alive?" His features darkened to that of a dangerous predator. For several long moments he remained silent, his eyes intent on Riordyn. "You do not hear me, do you?"

Aidan had explained to him how the shared Carpathian mental pathway worked, and he knew that his brother had been trying to communicate with him through their shared link. "I heard the words you spoke aloud, but not the ones you tried to share with me without speaking."

"Can you communicate with the others in the manner of our people?"

Riordyn shook his head. "I can do nothing that our people can do, Rafe. I am no longer Carpathian."

"No," Rafe's fists clenched, "I refuse to believe that!"

"Whether you chose to believe it or not, it is the truth."

A low growl rumbled in Rafe's throat as he sliced into his wrist. "You will drink my blood and remember me," he ordered, holding his wrist up to Riordyn's mouth.

"I would like very much to remember you," Riordyn responded, but before he had a chance to even taste his brother's blood, a golden owl swooped down from the sky and shifted into Julian.

"You cannot give him your blood, Rafe," Julian said, maneuvering his way between the two brothers. "The memories you two share are too vast, spanning well over fifteen hundred years. If you do this – if you give him your blood, you may very well kill him. At the very least, you will shatter his mind completely."

"You're telling me I should do nothing to help him?"

"I know you want to help him, Rafe." Julian placed a hand on Rafe's shoulder, but Rafe shirked away from him. "We did not tell you he was alive because we knew the desire to share your blood with him would be too overwhelming for you."

"So you kept my brother a prisoner," Rafe concluded, folding his arms across his chest.

"We could do no other than to see to his safety."

As the words left Julian's mouth, Riordyn grimaced. They discussed him as if he wasn't even there. He could tell from their shared glances that they'd switched to communicating through their shared mental pathway. From his brother's darkening expression, he knew Rafe didn't like what Julian was telling him.

"I would ask that you speak aloud in order that I may hear how pathetic I am."

"I was telling Julian that you will be coming home with me," Rafe gritted out. "Genevieve will be happy to see you."

"Who is Genevieve?"

Once again Rafe looked to Julian and then answered. "My lifemate. We have two daughters, Meagan and Merissa. I have told them all about you."

"Good, then maybe they can tell me everything I've forgotten." He laughed without humor. "In your private conversation with my brother, did you happen to mention my lifemate, Julian?"

"He told me she is missing," Rafe answered instead of Julian. "You and I will find her, Riordyn."

Rafe didn't wait for Julian to object. In a blur of speed, he gripped hold of Riordyn, and launched himself into the air. Wind whipped at his face, forcing him to close his eyes. His brother was speaking to him, but with the rush of the wind in his ears he couldn't make out what he said. When Rafe set him down in front of a sprawling two story mansion set in the middle of the forest, a woman with long chestnut hair and beautiful green eyes rushed forward, and wrapped her arms around his throat.

"I told you she would be happy to see you," Rafe said from behind him.

"You must be Genevieve." Riordyn pulled back, and smiled down at her. Something flashed in his memory when he looked into her eyes. Pain rippled through his body, old scars felt as if they were being ripped open. The feeling faded rapidly, yet the memory lingered. "We have a connection, you and I."

"You remember me?" She smiled hopefully.

"I cannot recall any of the time we spent together. Still you are in my heart, little one." He tapped at his heart then grasped hold of her hand. He turned to look at his brother, and swallowed down his pride before he asked, "Would it be all right if I tasted her blood in order that I could remember her?"

Rafe hesitated for a moment before giving a curt nod. "Be careful, Riordyn," he warned, body tensing as Riordyn's incisors lengthened. "If the memories come too quickly, Julian fears they will shatter your mind." He moved to Genevieve's side, and slid his arm around her waist as she held out her wrist to Riordyn. "Do not try to find memories of me through her blood. Only take what you need to remember her."

Riordyn lifted her wrist to his mouth, and sunk his fangs into her flesh. Rich sweet tasting blood filled his mouth, and as it slid down his throat an explosion of memories ripped through his mind. Finding her, shielding her, protecting her – and then there was pain, endless brutal pain. Knees buckling, his legs wobbled, and still he clung to her searching for memories of his brother. Pressure built inside his head as he recalled taking her blood and leaving his mark on her throat.

Another memory slammed its way to the forefront of his mind. Blood trickled from his eyes and nose as a high pitched scream echoed in his mind, growing louder with each passing moment. The memory looped, repeating again. He was running faster and faster through the forest but he couldn't catch her. Every time he almost caught up with her, she slipped from his grasp and disappeared again. Darkness closed in from all around him, and still he reached for her. _You did this to her,_ came a cold calculating voice from the deepest recesses of his mind._ You will die knowing you failed to protect her._

Lost in the memory, Riordyn crumpled to the ground and gave in to the darkness beckoning him to join it. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Four years ago…

"Do you sense anything inside?" Riordyn asked, studying the old stone building closely. Ever since the incident at Rosemont, he grew uneasy every time they entered an old building in search of his lifemate. From what he was learning from Jenna, ghosts seemed more prevalent in older dwellings. She couldn't explain why, and he really didn't need to know the answer. If she didn't like the feel of a certain place, he left her outside and worked fast to search every room.

"I'm not going inside," she announced, taking a seat on the ledge surrounding the water fountain in front of the entrance.

"How many?"

"At least four that I can sense – three women and one man." Nervously biting at her lower lip, she glanced up at a window on the second floor. "The woman with white hair is watching us." She lifted a hand and pointed at the window, and Riordyn noticed the curtain waver ever so slightly. "She's trying to get into my mind, Riordyn. She's stronger than me, and your safeguards aren't working."

"Maybe it would be better if you waited in the forest while I take a look around inside." Even as he spoke, he reinforced the safeguards he had woven into her mind. He sensed the dark touch of the ghost on her mind, and forcefully pushed her out. "Or perhaps it would be best if I took you back to the cavern before I continued my search."

"Or we could take the night off and do something else for a change," she said, twirling her ponytail around her fingers. "Not that I don't just _love_ spending my teenage years wandering through mental institutions, but I'm pretty sure I'll never find a boyfriend you'll approve of if the only people we ever see are certifiable."

"When you are old enough, I will help you find someone suitable to marry," he gritted out, mentally reminding himself to remain calm. She was right though, and that bothered him. They spent almost every night searching for his lifemate, and when they weren't doing that, he was hunting vampires. "Let me search this building, and when I am finished, I promise we will do something you want to do."

Her face lit up with a beautiful smile. "You mean it?"

"Yes, little one. We will do whatever you want," he reiterated, leaving himself with no choice but to do whatever it was that girls her age liked to do.

He should have thought harder on a way to get out of his vow, and he regretted making it the moment she told him where she wanted to go. After he finished searching the entire mental facility, she forced him to go to the mall with her. Luckily the stores closed at ten o'clock, leaving them only a little over an hour to walk around.

"Don't walk with me, Riordyn," she ordered, quickly moving way ahead of him once they entered the mall. "And don't give anyone that look of yours," she whispered, knowing he would hear her.

"What look is that, little one?" he chuckled.

"The "I'll kill you if you even look at her" look." She wove her fingers through her hair, pulling it free from the ponytail holder. As she shook it out, her long dark hair cascaded down her back. A low growl rumbled in his throat as two boys around her age, caught sight of her and turned around to follow her.

_Are you purposely trying to torment me? _he asked through the mental pathway he created for the two of them.

_I have no idea what you're talking about. _She paused to look in one of the shop windows, and the two boys made their move. They talked to her for several minutes, introducing themselves as Dillon and Matt, and then followed her as she moved on to the next store. The blond haired boy went inside the music store for a moment leaving her alone with the darker haired boy. While his friend was gone, the lean muscular boy asked her if she wanted to walk around the mall with him and his friend.

_Tell him you're not interested, _he ordered in a tone meant to brook no argument. His hands balled into fists when instead of listening to him, she agreed. _I will not allow you to walk around the mall with that boy._

_It's not like it's a date, Riordyn, _she said as if he was being completely unreasonable. _But even if it was, I'm going to be seventeen in six months. I'm old enough to go on a date with a guy._

_He is not the right boy for you, _he said, momentarily losing sight of her as a group of teenagers passed in front of them. He picked up his pace, skirting around people until he found her and the two boys standing near a water fountain. _You are special, csitri. I am certain you are meant to be with one of my people. _

_So once I'm old enough you plan on pawning me off on someone like yourself? _

_Would that be so bad? _He paused in his steps as he waited for her to answer. Even if she said it would be horrible, he still felt a sense of duty to his people. If she could prevent one Carpathian from turning vampire, it would save a lot of lives. Whether he liked it or not, once she turned twenty, he would take her to the Carpathian Mountains, and hopefully she would find a lifemate.

_I don't want to be anyone's lifemate, Riordyn. _

Dillon started talking about school, trying to impress her by telling her he was on the football team. When he failed to get the response he was looking for, he went on to ask where she went to school. She lied and said she went to a private school for girls where she lived. In all the months they had spent together, Riordyn had never once considered her education. Now he was forced to consider the possibility of sending her to school. _That'll mean she'll sleep during the night, and she'll need a permanent home. _Since it had been brought to his attention, he could no other than provide proper education for her.

_Why have you never spoken to me of your education? _

_How am I supposed to go to school when we travel around so much? _Tucking her hair behind her ear, she leaned in closer as Dillon said something to her. Whatever he said, she laughed as if it was the funniest thing she ever heard.

_You are flirting with this boy right in front of me, _he growled, and heard her laughter in his mind.

_That's what girls do when they are talking to a hot guy, Riordyn. _

_I have had enough, Jenna. Tell him you need to go before I cause a scene. _

_You wouldn't dare._

_Do I look as if I wouldn't dare? _When Jenna casually glanced over her shoulder at him, he narrowed his eyes on Dillon and scowled.

Jenna resumed her conversation with Dillon, and then within a matter of minutes, she said she had to go home. She was about to leave, but he grasped hold of her arm, and asked for her phone number. Riordyn cursed under his breath when she traded numbers with him. When she first asked for a cell phone he flat out refused to give her one. He would have stuck to his decision if she hadn't claimed she needed it in case they ever got separated, and she could not find him. Although he knew that was impossible, he had taken her blood to ensure he could always find her no matter where she went, he could not tell her that. If he refused, she would wonder why and ask questions he didn't want to answer. So instead he gave in and bought them both cell phones. Up until now, she only had his number on her list of contacts, and that was the way he liked it. Now she had the boy's number as well, and from her beaming smile when she rushed back to him, he could tell she was ecstatic.

They hadn't even made it to the parking lot before Dillon sent her a message. He glanced at the message over her shoulder, and his mood darkened as he read, _Just wanted to make sure you gave me your real number. _She quickly messaged him back, and from that point onward, she completely ignored him as they chatted back and forth all the way back to the cavern. Thankfully she lost reception as they traveled through the tunnel. She backtracked until she picked up a signal again, and told him she had to get to bed and would talk to him soon. Then finally once again her attention was solely on Riordyn.

"You should tell him we will be leaving in a few days, and won't be coming back again."

The smile she'd been wearing since they left the mall quickly vanished. "You don't want me to have any friends, do you?"

"I do not see the point in it," he answered truthfully. "I have you and see no need to have any other friends."

"What happens when you find your lifemate, Riordyn?" she asked, heading straight for her room the moment they entered the cavern. "Once you find her, you won't want me around anymore. Hell, you're already planning on dumping me off on some Carpathian the moment I'm old enough to be his lifemate. Why wait? Why not just get it over with now?" With her back to him, she ransacked her dresser drawers searching for pajamas. As he considered her question, he watched as she tossed her clothes on the floor. "You think you know what's best for me but you don't," she went on to say, fisting her pajamas in her hand. "I'm tired of living in caves and spending my nights in mental institutions. I'm sick of being stuck alone in this dark place all day while you're buried underground. I wanna go to school and do things other girls my age are doing. I want a real home, Riordyn, and since you can't provide that for me, I want you to find me someone who can."

Riordyn's stomach twisted in knots at the thought of losing her. She proved tonight that she could easily go out and find new friends, but he lived only to protect her and find his lifemate. Still deep down he knew she was right. He could give her anything she wanted, but not the things she truly needed. "I will try to do better," he promised, unwilling to let her go. "You may continue to talk to the boy if that is your wish."

"It is," she said, and once again he imagined he saw a spark of blue in her steel gray eyes before it faded away.

The nerve in his right cheek twitched as he gritted his teeth, and said, "I can do no other than see to your happiness, little one."

_Six months later…_

Riordyn had hired a tutor for Jenna, and paid her enough to travel around the country with them. As long as he put her up in the best hotels and supplied her with generous bonuses, she never questioned where they spent their nights or what he did during the day when she taught Jenna. Most nights he spent alone searching for his lifemate, and maybe it was for the best as his mood had turned dark after Jenna told him she wanted him to find her a real home. And it didn't help matters that she continued to talk to Dillon. Every few weeks she pouted until he gave in and returned to North Carolina so she could spend some time with him. To the core of his being he hated their blossoming relationship, and needed to figure out a way to put an end to it without having her blame him. The only way he could think of to do that was find her lifemate which meant that he needed to plan a trip to the Carpathian Mountains.

It was her seventeenth birthday, the second one they would be spending together, but she wanted to spend it with Dillon. Riordyn promised to give her anything she wanted for her birthday, and of all the things she could have asked for, she chose Dillon. That was the final straw. Even if he swore to himself he would never return to his homeland, he'd make the concession. To keep people from questioning his sudden reappearance, he decided to pretend he was Rafe as he tried to find her lifemate. Now he just needed to decide how to tell Jenna his plans.

"You look beautiful tonight, csitri," he said, leaning in the doorway of her bedroom. The doorway – another concession he made to please her. She insisted on a lock for the door so she could shut him out whenever the mood struck her. No matter where they traveled, the first thing he did when they found a place to stay was to construct her bedroom in exact detail to make it feel like home.

It wasn't often that he saw her wear a dress, and although he wished the hem was lower, exposing less of her shapely legs, he still had to admit to himself she was beautiful. Too beautiful for a human boy to appreciate. Her long hair cascaded over shoulders in soft waves. She'd pulled it back with silver combs, loose tendrils framing her heart shaped face. Trying to ignore the sudden flutter in his stomach, he lowered his head.

"I know you said not to get you a gift," he reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small box, "but you only turn seventeen once." When she smiled, he closed the distance between them. He opened the box to reveal a heart shaped sapphire necklace surround by diamonds. "I've always imagined your eyes as blue, and I thought this would match them perfectly."

"They are blue." Jenna lifted her hair, and allowed him to place the necklace around her throat. She lifted the pendant, and as she studied it, he saw her smile in the mirror. "It's beautiful."

"I know it is your wish to spend this night with Dillon, but I would ask to have some of your time." Of their own accord, his arms circled her waist, and she turned to look up at him.

"I thought you said there was a vampire in the area that you needed to take care of?"

"There is." He sighed. "I have made arrangements with Gwen to pick you up at Dillon's house by midnight. You will be staying with her tonight." Luckily Gwen and Jenna had taken to each right from the start of Jenna's tutoring. "I will have to close myself off to you in case I am unsuccessful in killing the vampire. I do not want him to find you."

"Is he very powerful?" As she spoke, her lower lip quivered and he heard the slight tremor in her voice.

"I believe him to be very old and very cunning. But you need not worry about me, little one. I am more than capable of dealing with one vampire." His arms fell away from her waist, and he grasped hold of her hand to lead her into the cavern. Candlelight bathed the cave in a warm glow. Thick veins of crystals shimmered overhead, and from within the rough walls. All her favorite foods were spread across the table, and in the center was a cake with seventeen candles. One by one they all flickered to life. "I have heard it is customary for you to make a wish before blowing out the candles. And it is my hope that you do not use that wish to get rid of me."

She rolled her eyes. "You don't need to worry, Riordyn. I plan on making the same wish I made last year." Her smile faltered, leaving him to wonder what wish she had made. "Not that it matters since wishes never come true."

"If you tell me your wish, I will make certain it does come true."

"You can't make this wish come true." She leaned over and blew out the candles. "We should go. Dillon's waiting for me."

Jenna started to walk away but he pulled her back. "You will tell me your wish." He hated the fact that she didn't believe he could provide what she wanted most. "We will go nowhere until you tell me what it is."

"Then I guess I'd better call Dillon and tell him I can't make it," she answered stubbornly.

"You would deny him the pleasure of your company just to keep your wish a secret?"

"Yes." Pursing her lips, she shrugged.

"You would spend your birthday alone?"

"I won't be alone, I'll be with you."

"No, little one," he shook his head, and crossing his arms over his chest he went on to say, "I have a vampire to hunt. If you do not tell me your wish, you most certainly will be alone."

"You would really leave me alone on my birthday?" Tears gathered in her eyes, and again he saw the flickers of blue within their depths. When he nodded, a tear slipped down her cheek. "Fine," she huffed, "if you really want to know my wish I'll tell you. I want you to stop searching for your lifemate. We've been looking for her for over a year and half, and we haven't found her. It's time to admit to yourself that you aren't going to find her."

"You do not understand. She is the light to my darkness – if I do not find her I am lost."

"And you'll know who she is with just one look?" Lifting a brow, she dabbed her finger through the frosting on the cake, and licked it clean with a swirl of her tongue.

"Yes." His eyes lingered on her full lips as her tongue glided over traces of frosting. Gathering his thoughts, he cleared his throat. "She will bring color back into my world."

Her eyes widened incredulously. "You're basing your whole love life on the person who brings color into your life? What if she's old – I mean really, really old like ninety?"

"It will not matter," he said confidently. "She will be the light to my darkness. I will love her no matter how old she is."

"You say that now, but I doubt you'd be so certain if she does turn out to be an old lady." She waved a hand up and down in front of him. "Seriously, you're gorgeous so there's no way you'd settle for some wrinkled old woman."

Stomach flip-flopping, He drew in a sharp breath. "You find me attractive?"

"A person would have to be blind not to find you attractive. Which most old ladies are. For all you know, your lifemate could have glasses with lenses the size of my fist."

"I still say it will not matter."

"Then what if she's real young?" Taking a seat at the table, she crossed her legs, giving him ample view of her upper thighs. "What if she's only fourteen or fifteen when you find her?"

"Then I would watch over her and wait until she was old enough to claim her as my own."

"Like you watch over me?"

"Yes – no . . . it would be different." Flustered for the first time in his very long life, he wished he had put a stop to the conversation long before now. "Isn't Dillon waiting for you?"

"How would it be different?" she asked, ignoring his question. "I'm curious," she prompted when he failed to respond after several very long moments.

"I would want to keep her with me all the time and I would care for all her needs."

"I'm not seeing any difference yet. Go on." She waved a hand for him to continue.

"I would crave constant contact with her."

"Kind of like the way you're always talking in my head whenever I'm not with you? Is that what you mean?"

"I am your protector, Jenna. I need to know where you are to ensure your safety. You are my responsibility, nothing more."

"I see." Fiddling with the pendant he had given her, she turned her head to stare at the cake. "Since you're my _protector_, I guess I should tell you Dillon rented us a room at a hotel for the night. Since I already knew you'd ask Gwen if I could spend the night with her, I told her it wouldn't be necessary. So if you need me for any reason, that's where I'll be."

"You're – he rented . . . I _will_ kill him, csitri!" he growled, sudden undeniable rage filling him. The ground beneath his feet began to tremble as the candles scattered around the cavern flickered then burst into towering flames. "You will sleep with no other man but your lifemate – Do you understand me?" When she refused to look at him or say a word, he grasped hold of her arm, and yanked her out of the chair. She squirmed and pushed at his chest, trying to break his hold. Grabbing her other wrist, he pinned both of her arms behind her back, bring her body flush with his. "Do I make myself clear?"

Instead of fighting him, her body melted against his. His eyes fluttered closed as her lips and tongue traced a path over the pulse in his throat. Her teeth scraped lightly against his skin, and he moaned as his body went hard with need. "You need to stop," he murmured breathlessly. "I am not your . . . ." the words died abruptly in his throat as she claimed his mouth. _God, you taste so damn good. _His tongue danced around hers, and releasing her arms, his hand slid into her silky hair. _You are not my lifemate. _Even as he spoke the words, he trailed kisses to the pulse in her throat. Of their own volition, his incisors lengthened to scrape against her velvety skin. _This will change nothing, sίvamet. _His fangs sunk in deep, and tasting the sweetness of her blood, he groaned.

_I am the one you found – Claim me as your own, Riordyn. _Her fingers wove into his hair as he continued to drink in her intoxicating blood. _In your heart you know I am your lifemate just as I have known it since the first moment I saw you._

His mind cleared as she spoke, and although it took every bit of willpower he possessed, he swirled his tongue around the puncture wounds to heal them. Abruptly pulling away from her, he shook his head. "You are not my lifemate, Jenna. You are only a child under my protection. When you find your true lifemate, you will know the difference."

"You don't mean that," she cried, the sight of her tears tearing at his heart.

Swallowing down the painful lump in his throat, he uttered, "Yes, I do."

Silence stretched between them as they stood staring at each other. The words to claim her as his own burned on his tongue, but he refused to damn them both by speaking them aloud. "After I kill this vampire, we will be traveling to the Carpathian Mountains to find your lifemate. It would be for the best if you stayed with Gwen until then."

"No, I'll stay with Dillon. His parents already said I could stay with them if I wanted to." She turned and headed to her bedroom. When he entered her room, he found her stuffing her clothes into her pillowcases.

"How long do you plan on staying with him?" he gritted out, fighting the urge to lock her away inside her bedroom.

"Permanently." Grasping hold of the gold chain around her throat, she ripped it off and threw it on the bed.

"That was a birthday present," he muttered, staring at the broken chain.

"Give it to your lifemate," she replied, angrily swiping away the tears slipping down her cheeks.

Pressing his eyes closed, he swallowed hard and asked, "Are you going to sleep with him?"

"That's none of your business." Done packing, she pushed past him, and strode toward the entrance of the cave.

_I am sorry, sίvamet. If I had a choice in the matter, I would choose you. . . . _


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Riordyn dropped Jenna off in front of Dillon's house, quickly transformed into a hawk and flew away without saying a word to her. Not that she expected him to try and change her mind. She never intended to tell Riordyn how she felt about him, but when he called her beautiful, she actually believed he might have feelings for her. Heat flushed her face as she recalled her foolish attempt to seduce him, and how he told her she meant nothing to him. The only thing he truly cared about what finding his lifemate and she didn't want to be around when he did.

He'd only been gone a few moments, and she already ached to see him again. As she walked toward Dillon's front door, the feeling intensified. The moment she walked inside his house, her whole life would change. No longer would she be a part of Riordyn's world. She'd close herself off to him, and learn to be happy with Dillon. She'd foolishly tried to make Riordyn jealous when she first started talking to Dillon, but that had failed miserably. To Riordyn she would always be a little girl – a child he needed to protect. Not once in all the time they spent together had he treated her otherwise, and yet she still held out hope he would change his mind as she grew older.

She was halfway up the steps when Dillon opened the door and held out a bouquet of peach colored roses for her. He was dressed to take her out for her birthday in a sea green button down shirt that almost matched his eyes and dark trousers. "You said you liked peach roses best so I went to three florists before I found these." He grinned, but it faded as he looked from her to the two pillowcases stuffed with her clothing. "What wrong, baby?"

"Can I stay with you," was all she could manage to say before she burst into tears.

"Yeah, definitely." Handing her the roses, he picked up her clothes, and nudged his head for her to follow him. "What happened?" he asked as he led her upstairs to the last bedroom on the left.

"I got in a fight with my brother," she uttered, continuing with the lie she told him about how she lived with her brother Riordyn, and that they traveled around a lot for his job. "I can't live with him anymore, Dillon."

He flipped on the light switch, and set her two bags down near the door. The walls were painted pale pink with pictures of ballerinas adorning them. A corkboard filled with pictures, old movie stubs, and various mementos hung above the bed. Ballerina figurines were proudly displayed on both dressers. Against the far wall was a shelf filled with books, and two books sat on the cozy cushioned window seat as if someone was coming back to read them. If she hadn't been so upset, she would have been thrilled to have such a nice bedroom.

"This was my sister's room before she went away to college a few years ago," Dillon supplied, brushing a hand through his dark unkempt hair. "But it's yours as long as you want to stay." When she didn't respond, he pulled her into his arms, and kissed the top of her head. "It'll be okay, Jenna. You're brother will realize what a jerk he's being, and everything will work itself out."

"No, he won't. I never want to see him again, Dillon." Wrapping her arms around his waist, she rested her head against his chest. Over the last few months she grew to care a great deal for him, but even if she wished otherwise her heart belonged to Riordyn. "I know we planned to go out for my birthday, but would you mind if we stayed here?"

"Yeah, that's fine." He intertwined his fingers with hers, and led her back downstairs to the living room. "My parents are out for the night so we can make popcorn and watch a movie if you want." He left her on the couch and went to make popcorn. Within a few minutes he returned carrying a tray with a huge bowl of buttery popcorn, two cans of soda, and a wrapped rectangular box. "Since it's your birthday, you get to pick the movie. So I guess that means we'll be watching a chick-flick." He winked at her as he handed her the remote control.

He took a seat beside her, and wrapping an arm around her, he gently coaxed her to relax against him. Picking up the present, he handed it to her. "I was going to save this for later, but maybe it'll cheer you up."

Tears stung at her eyes as she stared at the box, and it took a few moments before she finally tore away the wrapping paper. Inside the box was a silver charm bracelet with three charms dangling from it. The first was the letter J, the second the number 17, and the last one was a heart. "The woman at the jewelry store assured me every girl loves charm bracelets, but if you don't like it we can take it back and get something else."

"No, I love it," she uttered through her tears.

"And I love you," he murmured, leaning in to capture her lips. "Don't worry, Jenna, everything's going to work out."

Dillon spent the whole evening trying to cheer her up, and by the time she went to bed, she actually did feel a bit better. In the morning she planned on talking to Gwen about registering for school. Since she didn't have transcripts from the school she went to before she was thrown into the mental asylum, she'd have to convince the Dillon's school that she had been home schooled her whole life. Hopefully Gwen would go along with the lie, and then she could start having a normal life.

As she began to drift off to sleep, a sudden cold draft blew past her. Goosebumps rose on her arms. _No, not here. Please not here. _Ever since she was a little girl ghosts had followed her around. Some of them were evil like the ones she encountered while she was with Riordyn. Yet, most of them were harmless, and once she listened to them, they would leave her alone. But lately she seemed to attract more vengeful spirits.

"Go away," she whispered, prying one eyelid open to look around the darkened room. "You're not welcome here."

"I am afraid I cannot do that, little one," came a disembodied voice, and as it spoke the room filled with an icy mist. "My son is in grave danger, and I can only help him through you."

"Who's your son?" she asked although she was fairly certain she knew the answer.

"Riordyn." She felt the bed dip as if someone had taken a seat beside her, and then a muscular man with the same long dark hair and features as Riordyn appeared. "Tonight he fought our enemies recklessly unmindful of the task at hand. He is badly injured and I fear he will not survive if you do not allow me to help him."

"There was more than one vampire?" she said, pushing aside her covers.

Riordyn's father nodded. "One master vampire and two fledglings. He managed to kill one of the fledglings, but as I said, his mind was not in the fight."

"Because of me." He was kind enough not to blame her, but Jenna knew how single-minded Riordyn normally was when he went out to hunt vampires. If she hadn't tried to force herself on him, he would have been completely focused on the task. Instead he'd been focused on her desire to change their relationship. "What do you want me to do?" she asked as she got out of bed to get dressed while his back was to her.

"I would ask to possess your body in order to save my son." Like the other spirits she had come across, he could have possessed her without her consent, and she would have been helpless to stop him. Instead he chose to ask her permission. Still she dreaded the idea of losing control of her mind and body. "I would not ask if there was any other way to save him. The energy within you expands upon the power any spirit possesses, little one. Through you I can destroy the vampires and heal my son."

"What if they're stronger than you?" His expression turned grave, and she lifted a hand to stop him as he opened his mouth to respond. "Never mind, don't answer that. Just do it before I change my mind."

No matter how hard Riordyn tried to put Jenna out of his mind to focus on the vampire he was tracking, she kept creeping back into his thoughts. Several times he reached out to her, hoping he could somehow persuade her into forgiving him. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach her. She had closed herself off to him completely.

_I never should have taken on the responsibility of protecting her. _If he hadn't brought her into his world, he would have been free to spend all his time searching for his lifemate. Unbidden memories of his lifemate dying over and over again came to mind as he tracked the foul stench of the vampire. A myriad of faces flashed before his eyes, each one haunted with madness. _My heart is chained to a mad woman. How can she possibly bring light to my darkness? _ He could search every mental institution throughout the whole world and never find her. That possibility never left his mind. _I should have greeted the dawn and ended her curse – but then I never would have met Jenna. _

If he hadn't found her and saved her from the mental institution, Cobbs would have continued to rape her and prostitute her body to other men while the officials at the institution remained unaware. The thought of another man touching her filled him with rage, and for all he knew she might be making love to Dillon at this very moment. He'd kept Rafe's lifemate Genevieve from being with another man; he could do no other than make certain Jenna did the same until he found her lifemate.

Sudden pain struck from seemingly out of nowhere. Pulled from his thoughts of Jenna, he glanced down at his chest. Blood soaked through his tattered shirt, leaking from deep jagged gashes running down the length of his chest. A scream burst from his lips as searing pain ripped through his back. Knees buckling, he dropped to the ground a split second before the vampire's claws raked through him again. He'd only sensed the master vampire, not the other two who took turns tearing into his flesh. Now he could only detect the two vampires, and their master was cloaked from him.

Dissolving into a fine mist, he slipped away from them, leaving a trail of bloody droplets behind. They swiftly caught up to him, giving him no time to heal his wounds. Hastily shifting into a wolf, he pounced on the taller vampire, knocking him to the ground. His teeth tore through the vampire throat, vile black blood spilling into his mouth. The smaller, bulkier vampire lunged at him, yanking him free from the bloody vampire. The taller vampire rose to his feet, and charged Riordyn. Its head bobbled grotesquely as blackened blood flowed freely from the massive gash in his throat.

Vines coiled around Riordyn's feet, twisting tight as they snaked their way up his body. Gathering his strength, he called down a bolt of lightning to incinerate the vines. Bats dove down from the sky and clawed at his skin as the bulkier vampire sunk his fangs into the side of Riordyn's throat. In a blur of speed, Riordyn whipped around as the taller skeletal vampire attacked again. His sharp clawing nails ripped into the smaller vampire, tearing him away from Riordyn.

Strength dwindling and rapidly losing blood, he shot forward and plunged his hand into the taller vampire's chest. Ripping its withered heart from its body, he threw it as far as he could and called down a lightning bolt to burn it to ash. The vampire dropped to the ground, and writhed and squirmed, struggling to get to its heart. Lightning forked across the sky and slammed into the vampire, setting him ablaze.

Instead of continuing with the attack the bulky vampire stood back, and another vampire approached. Tall and elegantly dressed, the vampire retained the look of a Carpathian instead of a skeletal creature with blackened teeth. His long black hair was neatly tied back away from his face. Undeniable power rippled through him, drawing all the insects within the forest to him. Snakes slithered up from out of the ground beneath him and coiled around his legs.

"You are weak, brother," the vampire spoke, and as he did a deep fissure erupted, splitting the earth where Riordyn stood. He leapt forward, landing on the ground a few feet away which gave way, leaving him to make another leap for safety. "Do you remember me, Riordyn?" he asked conversationally. "We fought side by side for many long years."

"I remember you, Artemis." Riordyn cautiously glanced back and forth between the master and the fledgling. "You were like a brother to me – now seeing what you've become I wish I had never saved your life."

"The strong always find a way to survive." With a flick of his wrist, a thick vine dropped down from the tree Riordyn was standing beneath, and wrapped around his throat. The thorny vine cut deep into his throat as it wove tighter and tighter, cutting off his oxygen. Dissolving into mist, he escaped only to reappear behind Artemis.

His arm shot forward to plunge into Artemis' back, but in a blur of speed, the other vampire caught hold of his wrist and yanked it backward, knocking Riordyn off balance. Stumbling to the ground, he rolled, but wasn't fast enough to get to his feet before the smaller vampire attacked again. Its claws ripped into Riordyn's upper arm, and tore across his chest. Blood splattered across the ground, and the insects converged on it.

"Pledge yourself to me, and you will not have to die this night, Riordyn," Artemis murmured in a low melodic tone meant to entrance.

"I am not afraid to die," Riordyn uttered, spitting out the blood filling his mouth. But even as he said the words, he knew he was lying. He didn't fear death, but he did fear leaving his lifemate behind to die alone again. And more than anything he wanted the chance to see Jenna again.

And then there she was, appearing from within the mist. Her eyes gleamed as black as obsidian in the pale moonlight. At first he believed her to be a figment of his imagination, but then Artemis tilted his head to the side to look at her. Riordyn's heart lodged in his throat as she strode forward without fear.

"Jenna, run!" he ordered, dragging himself to his feet only to be slammed to the ground by the fledgling.

"This little girl means something to you," Artemis chuckled. "I will spare her if you join me," he coaxed, practically gliding across the ground to close the distance to her.

"You think you are as powerful as me?" Jenna laughed, and as she did a halo of heavenly light surrounded her. She splayed out a hand, and lightning shot from her fingertips, incinerating the fledging in a burst of flames. "I call down the power of all the ancients upon you, Artemis!"

Thunder rumbled shaking the earth as lightning forked across the sky, and slammed into the ground all around Artemis. Jenna took a step toward Artemis, and for as unbelievable as it seemed to Riordyn, the vampire retreated.

"You would think to hurt and dishonor my son?" Jenna said, and with lightning fast reflexes, she closed the distance between them. Artemis screamed and writhed in pain as warmth of the halo surrounding her seared the flesh from his bones. "It is you who will die this night." With that said, she plunged her hand into his chest. Light filled his body, illuminating his rotted insides before he burst into flames. His screams echoed through the trees then faded away to nothingness.

When Artemis was gone, Jenna walked to Riordyn, and knelt beside him. Lifting her arm, she sliced through her wrist, and held it up to his mouth. "Take what I offer freely, my son, in order that you may live to find your lifemate."

_You are not Jenna,_ he said through the common mental pathway of his people as he drank in the ancient powerful blood.

"I am your father."

"How is it possible?" was all he could think to say as his vision blurred and mind began to fog over.

"When I told Jenna you were in danger, she allowed me to possess her body to aid you. She will make a great lifemate for some man."

"I know," he uttered, eyelids fluttering closed. "I swear on my honor I will find her lifemate."

Jenna lifted him into her arms as if he were no more than a baby, and took to flight. She flew swiftly through the air toward the cavern. The warm glow of healing light surrounding Jenna seeped into his skin to heal his wounds. When the cavern entrance was in sight, she dove downward and sped through the tunnel. Once inside the cavern, she opened the earth and laid him down.

"Jenna grows weary, my son," his father said, kneeling beside him. "I must take her back to her friend's home."

"I want her to stay with me," he mumbled, fighting the strong mental push to sleep coming from his father.

"Through her I have called out to our people," he went on to say as he reinforced his command for Riordyn to sleep. "Falcon answered my call and will take Jenna to our homeland to find her lifemate. She has agreed to this, and wished for me to tell you goodbye. By the time you wake, they will be gone."

"You cannot take her from me." Riordyn struggled against the darkness dragging him under. He refused to believe Jenna would willingly leave him to find her own lifemate. He tried to sit up but his body refused to budge. "I am her protector, father. My honor demands that I be the one to find her a lifemate."

"You will dishonor yourself if she stays. Sleep the healing sleep of our people and then go and find your lifemate, Riordyn."

_Jenna, do not leave me, _he called out to her, weaving his way through her mind until he found her hidden buried deep within its recesses. _Stay with me, little one. Once I am healed, I will take you to find your lifemate._

_I can't, Riordyn. I won't let you get hurt again because of me. You said I'm not your lifemate, and I would know the difference when I find him – I need to find him without you. _

When she was done speaking, she forcefully pushed him out of her mind, and his father sent him another sharp command to sleep. He lost the will to fight the beckoning sleep of his people, and allowed the darkness take him away from the pain filling his heart.


End file.
